Which orbital has the highest energy in a multielectron atom? The quantum numbers are given as (n, l, ml). Select one: a. (3, 0, 0) b. (4, 3, -1) c. (4, 4, 0) d. (4, 1, 1) e. (3, 2, 0) Solution Ans : b) (4,3,-1) The orbital with the highest energy can be determined by the additon of principal and azimuthal quantum numbers. So the atom with the highest sum , has the highest energy. Here the highest sum is for : option c) i.e. 4 + 4= 8 , so it must have the highest energy in a multielectron atom , but 4g orbital does not exist. SO the next choice is option b) , i.e. 4 + 3 = 7 , which refers to 4f orbital. .